Business card

• US 6,722,574 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2001
• Issued: 04/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Original Assignee: Anoto Group AB
• Inventors: Andersson, Jan, Skantze, Kristofer
• Primary Examiner(s): KIM, AHSHIK
• Application Number:
  US09/947,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20020053596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 235/494, 235/487
• US Class Current: 235/494
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0321 by optically sensing the absolute position with respect to a regularly patterned surface forming a passive digitiser, e.g. pen optically detecting position indicative tags printed on a paper sheet constructional details of pen-shaped pointing devices G06F3/03545, G06F3/03542, G06F3/037
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/17 using hand-held instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/19 by sensing codes defining pattern positions

Abstract

A business card and a pen, which is adapted to detect a position-coding pattern on the business card and calculate a coordinate by means of the pattern. When activating a send box by means of the pen, a computer sends a .vcf file containing the card holder'"'"'s particulars to a card recipient belonging to the pen holder. When using an optional pen, the .vcf file is sent to a recipient indicated on the keypad of a mobile phone or written on the business card in associated fields or marked in other manners. The pen communicates with a computer wirelessly, for instance via Bluetooth, mobile phone and the Internet. Additional information can be drawn on the back of the business card and be attached to the transmission, such as date and time for the next meeting, a small drawing or sketch etc.

Claims

1. A business card comprising:

a card surface;

printed matter provided on said card surface and identifying particulars about a business card holder, such as company and/or personal particulars, and

a position-coding pattern adapted to code at least one coordinate on a virtual surface, said coordinate being uniauely associated with and pointing to an electronic file representing said particulars.

2. A business card as claimed in claim 1 wherein said coordinate is a pointer to a storage position for said particulars in digital form, for example a .vcf file.

3. A business card as claimed in claim 2 wherein said virtual surface is divided into several domains, of which one domain is an identity domain which is divided into a plurality of identity areas, each corresponding to a business card holder.

4. A business card as claimed in claim 3, wherein said virtual surface further comprises a functional domain which comprises at least one send area,

at least a portion of the position-coding pattern coding at least one coordinate corresponding to the send area.

5. A business card as claimed in claim 3 wherein said virtual surface further comprises a message domain, which comprises at least one message area,

at least a portion of the position-coding pattern coding a coordinate area corresponding to the message area.

6. A business card as claimed in claim 3, wherein said virtual surface further comprises an address domain, which comprises at least one address area,

at least a portion of the position-coding pattern coding a coordinate area corresponding to the address area.

7. A business card as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said particulars are selected from a group consisting of one or more of the following:

the company'"'"'s particulars, the business card holder'"'"'s particulars, the business card holder'"'"'s personal particulars, drawings or graphs drawn on the business card, files and documents.

8. A system for transferring information printed on a business card to a desired computer location, the business card as claimed in having the information printed thereon and being provided with a position code pattern including a unique identity code, the system comprising:

a handheld position code reading unit, adapted to detect the position-coding pattern to determine the unique identity code;

a computing device including a data base, the database including a representation of the unique identity codes associated with piural business cards and associated computer files having the information printed on its associated business card stored therein;

the handheld unit including a communication device which is adapted to send a signal representing said unique identity code to the database to access the associated computer file having the information printed on its associated business card from the database.

9. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the handheld position code reading unit includes a communication device which interacts with said computing device, said computing device adapted to send the file to a business card recipient.

10. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein one of said handheld position code reading unit and computing device identify the bearer of said handheld position code reading unit;

said business card including a function code representing the function of sending the computer file containing said information printed on the business card to a remote computing device associated with the bearer of said handheld position code reading unit;

said computing device sending the computer file containing said information printed on the business card to the computing device associated with the bearer of said handheld Position code reading unit in response to reading of said function code by said handheld position code reading unit.

11. A system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the card is provided with a function code representing the function of sending the computer file defined by said identity code to an address defined by the user;

reading the function code with the handheld reading device and determining the business card recipient to send said information to from an addressis defined by particulars which are inputted via an inputting device, such as a keyboard or a keypad of a mobile phone or a PDA.

12. A system as claimed in claim 9 wherein the handheld reading device is an electronic pen and is used to write the send address on a position code bearing portion of said card, said electronic pen recording the address of the business card recipient as information read during the writing of the address.

13. A system as claimed in any one of claim 11 wherein said handheld reading unit is an electronic pen and further information is applied to the business card by means of said pen and communicated to the business card recipient, optionally with a copy to the business card holder and/or the pen holder, by reading of a function code provided on said card.

14. A system as claimed in any one of claims 8-11 wherein said information includes at least one of the company'"'"'s particulars, the business card holder'"'"'s particulars, the business card holder'"'"'s personal particulars, drawings or graphs drawn on the business card, files and documents.

15. The system of claim 8 wherein said database includes plural unique identity codes and associated business card information, the information including particulars of the cardholder in the form of a file such as a .vcf file.

16. The system of claim 8 wherein said position code is an absolute position code.

17. The system of claim 8 wherein the card is provided with a recipient address field and with a function code representing the function of sending the computer file defined by said identity code to the address defined by the recipient address field;

said handheld reading unit being and electronic pen used by a user to write an address in said address field;

said handheld reading unit reading said function code to cause said computer device to send said information to the address written in the address field.

26. The method of claim 9 wherein said said computing device sends the file to the business card recipient in the form of an e-mail or a fax.

18. A method of transferring information printed on a business card to a desired computer location, said method being used with an electronic handheld position reading system including a handheld unit reading position codes from a position code pattern provided on a supporting surface and supplying the pattern to a computing element for decoding the pattern to determine the position read by said handheld unit, the method comprising:

providing a position code on a surface of said business card, at least a portion of said position code being an identity position code uniquely specifying information printed on the business card;

associating a computer file containing said information printed on the business card with said identity position code

using a handheld device to read the position code including the identity position code provided on said card;

providing said position code to a computing device; and

using said position code as a pointer to the computer file containing the information printed on said card.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said position code further includes a function position code, said method further comprising:

associating a function command with said function position code;

said step of using the handheld device to read the position code including reading the function position code; and

performing a program function at least partially with said computing device as specified by said function code.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein said handheld device is registered in at least one of said handheld device and said computing device as being associated with its bearer;

said function position code specifying the function of sending the computer file containing said information printed on the business card to the registered bearer of said handheld device;

performing the function of sending the computer file containing said information printed on the business card to a computing device associated with the bearer of the handheld device in response to reading the function position code with said handheld device.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein said handheld device is an electronic pen;

said business card including a recipient address field;

said method further comprising the step of writing an address into said recipient address field with the electronic pen to identify a location of a recipient to receive said computer file;

said function position code specifying the function of sending the computer file containing said information printed on the business card to the recipient identified by said address provided in said recipient address field in response to reading by said handheld device.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said method further comprises sending said computer file to the address specified by the recipient address field in response to reading said function position code with said handheld device.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said business card further includes an additional information field;

said method further comprising writing additional information in said additional information field with said electronic pen and recording the associated position codes read by said pen within said pen before reading the function position code;

said step of reading said function position code instituting the transmission of said additional information to the address specified.

24. The method of claim 18 further comprising transmitting the computer file to the recipient of the business card.

25. The method of claim 18 wherein the position code is an absolute position code.